Corona wins District 1 Supervisor race

While the results are not yet official, it’s safe to say that Colusa County’s only contested local race has already been decided.

The Colusa County Clerk and Recorder’s Office still had 86 provisional ballots left to count as of 4:30 PM on Friday, and potentially some additional Vote By Mail ballots, but the uncounted ballots are unlikely to change the outcome of the race for District 1 Colusa County Supervisor.

It appears that Merced Corona will serve in that capacity for the next four years, filling the seat that was recently vacated by Kim Dolbow Vann.

As of the last update, Corona had received 492 votes – 132 more than Johannes “Joe” Lauwerijssen, the only other candidate vying for the seat. Corona received about 58 percent of the vote, Lauwerijssen 42 percent.

“I made my pitch to the voters, and I intend to try to keep my promises and represent District 1, like I said I would: listen to the people and be a voice for them,” Corona said on Monday morning. “I’m very grateful for all of the people that voted for me, and my intention is over the next four years, to earn the votes of those who didn’t.”

Corona, 54, is a retired law enforcement officer who served 26 years with the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office. He previously ran for the office of Sheriff-Coroner, losing out to incumbent Scott Marshall in 2006. He credited Lauwerijssen for running a clean and friendly campaign.

“Joe and I are friends, and we just found ourselves fighting for the same position,” said Corona. “We’ll remain friends. I told him when he called to congratulate me that I was really proud of him. He had a lot of support, and the votes indicated that.”

Corona said that he will use the next six months to get up to speed on county business, before taking office in January.

Brian Pearson is the Managing Editor & Reporter for the Williams Pioneer Review. Brian joined the Williams Pioneer Review in June 2016 and is committed to bringing hyperlocal news to its readers. A few of his projects include reporting on local government and the newly feature sports page. To contact Brian about this article, or for future articles, please email him at brian@colusacountynews.net

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